Racetrackmasters

Abu Dhabi GP: Mercedes dominance continues as Hamilton tops FP3 – Results

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton remained unbeaten in the Third Free Practice of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton topped the timesheets in the final practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with 1m 23.274s. His title rival, Max Verstappen was second fastest just two tenths of a second off the benchmark time as Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top three fastest lap times in the afternoon session. The conditions at Yas Marina Circuit were at 39 degrees for the track temperatures and 26 degrees for air temperature. Pirelli tyre options were the soft compound C5, medium compound C4 and hard compound C5. Verstappen was the first driver to set a time benchmark of 1m 24.997s on the medium tyre compound using the low downforce wing. Bottas went after Verstappen but only managed 1m 25.290s on the soft compound tyres which was a third of a second off Verstappen’s time. Lewis Hamilton experienced delays after coming in a little later than the other drivers as his mechanics raced against time working on the brakes. The Briton later set a benchmark time of 1m 24.241s on soft tyres. However, Hamilton’s lead was shortlived as Bottas made a flying lap recording 1m 24.238 in the sister Mercedes beating the benchmark time with just 0.003s. Lewis Hamilton later set a jaw breaking flying lap recording 1m 23.274s widening the margin over Bottas with 0.8s. Red Bull’s Verstappen recorded 1m 23.488s which was two tenths of a second slower than Hamilton after his flying lap on the softs after the team made changes to his rear wing. In the closing stages of the session, Hamilton’s time remained at the top of the timesheets. Verstappen taking P2 and Bottas P3, Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez came in P4 late in the session with 1m 24.047s. Yuki Tsunoda continued his good form which landed him P5 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris who put quite an impressive performance despite a slow weekend start on Friday. Pierre Gasly in the second AlphaTauri came in P7 as Carlos Sainz marked the first Ferrari at P8. Daniel Ricciardo was impressive today after finishing P9 for McLaren as Charles Leclerc rounded out the top ten. 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP3 Results: Pos No Driver Nat. Team Time Gap Laps 1 44 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1:23.274 22 2 33 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1:23.488 +0.214s 23 3 77 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1:24.025 +0.751s 21 4 11 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1:24.047 +0.773s 20 5 4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1:24.106 +0.832s 16 6 22 Yuki Tsunoda JAP Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1:24.223 +0.949s 21 7 10 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1:24.251 +0.977s 22 8 55 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1:24.595 +1.321s 19 9 3 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1:24.733 +1.459s 15 10 16 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1:24.758 +1.484s 20 11 18 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1:24.821 +1.547s 21 12 31 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1:24.834 +1.560s 17 13 7 Kimi Räikkönen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 1:25.037 +1.763s 22 14 99 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 1:25.048 +1.774s 17 15 14 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team 1:25.094 +1.820s 19 16 5 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1:25.115 +1.841s 24 17 63 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 1:25.220 +1.946s 21 18 6 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1:25.322 +2.048s 18 19 47 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1:25.340 +2.066s 17 20 9 Nikita Mazepin RAF Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1:26.332 +3.058s 18

Wolff and Horner play cool ahead of the final title decider

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull’s Christian Horner played cool and even ‘shook on it’ on the Friday press briefing ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. The rival team bosses have had a somewhat ‘shaky relationship’ throughout the 2021 Formula 1 season. This was evident as the pair barely looked each other in the eye a couple of weeks ago discussing about the 2021 Formula 1 championship. However, today the duo put all the tension aside by shaking twice. The pressure build-up between Red Bull and Mercedes has been immense as they contend for both Drivers and Constructors championship titles. This comes as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal on points as they head to the final campaign of the 2021 Formula 1 season. Verstappen leads with 9 wins ahead of Hamilton with 8. Looking at the Constructors championship, Mercedes is ahead of Red Bull with 587.5 and 559.5 points respectively with Horner saying it would take a miracle to win the Constructors title. “Good luck. May the best man and the best team win,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reaching out to shake Horner’s hand with the constructor’s Championship trophy laying between them. “Exactly,” Red Bull boss Horner replied accepting the handshake,”We’re competing for two of the biggest trophies in sport of course, the competition is intense.” “It would be totally fake to sit here and say how much we love each other… because I’m not going on holiday with you after this weekend.” “The only chance we have to win this championship is to beat Lewis, and we want to do that on the track,” Horner added.

Abu Dhabi GP: Hamilton fastest in second practice as Raikkonen crashes out – Results

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on the top spot after setting the fastest lap in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix second free practice. Running on the soft tyre compound, the seven-time world champion set a time of 1m 23.691s on the revamped Yas Marina track being the only driver in the 1m 24s. Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen ended the session ranking P4, six tenths of a second off the benchmark time. In the early stages of the session, most drivers opted to run on medium tyres and Hamilton topped the time sheets with 1m 24.9s. Verstappen tried to beat the time but got his time deleted for exceeding track limits. The Red Bull driver later tried his luck again recording 1m 25s. Another driver who got his lap time deleted was Fernando Alonso after trying to be as fast as his teammate Esteban Ocon who was the second fastest. Valtteri Bottas finished third just three tenths of a second slower than his teammate. With darkness setting in on the track, the drivers had a brief experience of track conditions as they head to the Qualifying round on Saturday and the race on Sunday. Sergio Perez was the fifth fastest driver behind Verstappen in the sister Red Bull as Fernando Alonso finished P6 despite his lap time getting deleted earlier on. Yuki Tsunoda put an an impressive performance for AlphaTauri after being the seventh fastest as his teammate Pierre Gasly was down in 10th. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished P8 and P9 respectively. Daniel Ricciardo led McLaren in 11th place with Lando Norris finishing 13th as Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi separating the duo in 12th place. Sebastian Vettel was the fastest of the Aston Martins at P14 ahead of Lance Stroll. Kimi Raikkonen was P16 despite bringing out red flags in the closing stages of the session after crashing heavily into the barriers at Turn 14. George Russell on his first stint of the day finished P17 for Williams ahead of his teammate Nicholas Latifi in P18. Mick Schmacher led Haas in P19 six tenths of a second clear of Nikita Mazepin. 2021 F1 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (2) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m23.691s 2 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m24.034s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m24.083s 4 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m24.332s 5 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m24.400s 6 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team 1m24.495s 7 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.532s 8 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.557s 9 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.844s 10 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.940s 11 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m24.959s 12 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.108s 13 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m25.153s 14 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m25.195s 15 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m25.385s 16 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.440s 17 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 1m25.549s 18 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m25.687s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m25.748s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m26.336s

Mercedes rules out having a new power unit for Lewis Hamilton

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Mercedes announced they have no plans to issue Lewis Hamilton with a fresh power unit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. Lewis Hamilton will not be having a new Internal Combustion Engine this weekend which will mark the end of the 2021 Formula 1 season. Hamilton has already used five engines in the 2021 campaign which exceeds the permitted engine allocation which is three. The 36-year-old had to incur grid penalties in the Turkish and Sao Paulo GPs for the extra two engines used. Word had been going round that Mercedes may be in consideration of having a new ICE on Hamilton’s car giving him an edge in performance over Max Verstappen. The two title rivals are currently equal on points as they head to Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale. Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin shut down the engine change allegations in an interview with Sky Sports. “Not on the plan… If we do that, something has gone wrong. It wouldn’t feel like a good idea. That would only be if we suffer a big problem, and even that wouldn’t be Plan A if we did lose an engine,” Shovlin said. There has been a lot of talk over the ICE that Hamilton used in Brazil, as Red Bull boss Christian Horner described it as ‘unraceable’ after Mercedes dominance in Brazil and Jeddah rounds. “It’s not as big a deal as it’s perhaps being made out to be, I think Red Bull were inferring it was a huge difference and I think Toto did the same at one point. It’s a useful step in the right direction,” Shovlin added. “Whether we had it in, or not, at the last race, it’s not going to cover the kind of gap that we were seeing to Max over a single lap. But it’s a step in the right direction.”

Abu Dhabi GP: Max Verstappen outpaces Mercedes in FP1

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was the fastest in the first practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen was two tenths of a second clear of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas who was the second fastest as Lewis Hamilton came in third. The Friday afternoon practice session was the first opportunity Formula 1 drivers had sampling the renovated Yas Marina Circuit. The track underwent alterations on Turn 5, 9 and 12 to 15 complex. Verstappen set the pace on the early stages of the session despite complaining about his steering wheel which he described as ‘right hand down and really annoying to drive.’ However, he was able to beat title rival Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second in the first Red Bull runs. Lewis Hamilton was able to get within 0.055s off Verstappen but the Red Bull driver extended his lead with three tenths of a second. Hamilton would later have another flying lap getting within 0.033 of Verstappen’s 1m 25.009s time but got his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits on the last turn. Verstappen’s lap time proved unbeatable even in the final stages as Bottas managed to come within 0.196s finishing P2. Hamilton came in at P3 just 0.008s clear of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Yuki Tsunoda started the weekend with a stunning performance for AlphaTauri which landed him at P5, closely followed by Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. Yuki’s teammate Pierre Gasly finished P7 as Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished P8 and P9 respectively. Ferrari encountered problems as Leclerc lost the first 20 minutes of the practice session, Sainz also complained that his car felt ‘quite bad’. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10. Alpine’s second car finished at P11 after Esteban Ocon experienced a technical hitch in the opening stages of the session slowing down, he also had a close shave after missing the wall on Turn 14. Lando Norris finished P12 ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who is on his final weekend racing in Formula 1. His teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished P14. Lance Stroll finished P15 and Daniel Ricciardo closely followed in P16. Jack Aitken finished 17th in his debut practice session in Formula 1 as he acted as a replacement for George Russell in Williams. The sister car finished P18 with Nicholas Latifi as Haas duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin finished P19 and P20 respectively. 2021 F1 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m25.009s 2 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m25.205s 3 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m25.355s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m25.363s 5 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m25.378s 6 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team 1m25.625s 7 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m25.822s 8 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m25.846s 9 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m25.886s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m26.007s 11 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m26.025s 12 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m26.123s 13 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m26.189s 14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m26.409s 15 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m26.608s 16 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m26.678s 17 Jack Aitken GBR Williams Racing 1m27.481s 18 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m27.487s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m27.698s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m28.305s

F1 extends partnership to race in Yas Marina for 10 years

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

F1 and Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday extended their partnership to host Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for 10 more years up to at least 2030. Formula One announced on Twitter that Abu Dhabi have extended their deal to host high-energy races with the inaugural race back in 2009 at the venue well into the future as the United Arab Emirates becomes one of the top venues on the F1 calendar. The deal also means the Abu Dhabi will continue to host the final race of the Formula 1 season in its now traditional slot to bring the curtain down on the year-long campaign. “The promoter always creates an incredible show for the final race of every F1 season and combined with the changes made to improve the racing on Yas Marina Circuit we are excited for the many years of racing in Abu Dhabi that are ahead of us,” F1 president Stefano Domenicali said. Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is the 22nd race of this year and also the final round in the 2021 World Championship, will name this year’s champion. The 2021 title contenders, Red Bull Racing Honda’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ British star Lewis Hamilton collected 369.5 points each before this weekend’s race in the United Arab Emirates.

Haas drivers warned to be careful at Abu Dhabi finale as team runs out of spare parts

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will have to avoid damages to their Formula 1 cars in the Abu Dhabi season finale this weekend. This comes after the team declared that it’s running out of spare parts ahead of the final race at Yas Marina this weekend. The team suffered damage to two chassis in Qatar and Saudi Arabian Grand prix after Mick Schumacher crashed out of the Jeddah race. Nikita Mazepin also had a violent crash in the race which damaged his replacement chassis beyond repair after the previous one was lost at Losail. “The last two races, Saudi and Qatar, we had some damage and there was no time to recover or to make new parts obviously,” Haas team principal Guenther Steiner explained. “So our stock is pretty low on parts but we have got enough to do the race if we don’t have any big accidents on Friday, then we will be OK. “But the drivers will be made aware of the situation – I think they are already aware that they cannot take any risks on Friday. “It’s not like that we are completely without parts. We’ve got enough parts. If we have a Friday this weekend like we had Sunday last weekend, we wouldn’t survive that.” Haas is coming to the end of a season with what is essentially – bar minor upgrades – the same car that it started the season with in Bahrain. It has proved a tricky car for its all-rookie line-up to handle at times, with Schumacher crashing out of qualifying at Paul Ricard and missing qualifying at the Hungaroring due to an FP3 crash. His team-mate Mazepin spun out on the first lap of the Bahrain season-opener and has lost control of his Haas on multiple further occasions. When asked if it was just chassis damage that Haas is vulnerable to this weekend, Steiner admitted stock of the rest of the parts “is not high” but the chassis is the main concern. “We’ve got enough of wings and floors so we should be OK with that one,” he added. “But let’s see, normally when you do a chassis you need other parts as well so we just need to be a little bit careful on Friday but then we will be OK.”

Guanyu Zhou to race as number 24 in F1

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago01 mins

Guanyu Zhou has selected the race number 24 to use when he makes his Formula 1 debut next year. The only rookie driver on the grid for the 2022 F1 season will drive for Alfa Romeo alongside Valtteri Bottas.Zhou is named as the driver of car number 24 in next year’s entry list issued by the FIA. He is the first driver to make that selection since permanent career numbers were introduced in 2014. The last driver to use the number was Timo Glock in 2012.

Helmut Marko ‘sorry’ for comments made after Hamilton-Verstappen contact in Jeddah

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Helmut Marko has admitted he was wrong after comments he made on Hamilton’s ‘brake test’ claim in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko admits he was wrong after claiming that Max Verstappen had not braked excessively causing Lewis Hamilton to run into the back of the Dutchman’s car in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The clash which happened on lap 37 back straight between F1’s title rivals was a major talking point after the eventful race in Jeddah. Ahead of the stewards’ decision to hand a 10-second penalty to Verstappen for “erratic” driving and causing the incident, a furious Marko claimed that Red Bull’s data would prove that Verstappen had not brake-tested his rival as Hamilton had alleged in the heat of the moment. “Our engineers are preparing, we can prove Max was constant with his braking, he didn’t brake test like Hamilton said,” said the Austrian, according to Autosport. “Then he crashed into our car,” Marko insisted. “He unfortunately put two cuts in the rear tyre, that was so severe that we couldn’t attack anymore. We had to take speed out.” However Marko has come to apologise for the comments he made claiming the information given by the engineers was wrong. “At the time of the television interview, I passed on exactly the information that I had previously received from the engineers. They obviously weren’t right, so I’m sorry,” Marko now tells F1insider. “Hopefully the sad chapter of Saudi Arabia has now closed,” he adds. “In any case, we’re just looking ahead. We want to win in Abu Dhabi and so win the title. “We will do everything for this, but we will not take any unfair actions. In Saudi Arabia we already had the pace to keep up with Hamilton. The route in Abu Dhabi should be more accommodating to us.”

Mercedes terminates Kingspan sponsorship deal

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

Mercedes Formula 1 team has ended controversial sponsorship deal with Kingspan, saying it is “not appropriate” to continue the partnership. Kingspan’s logo appeared on the helmet of Lewis Hamilton at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday, sparking protests after it emerged Kingspan products were used in Grenfell Tower, where 72 people were killed in a fire four years ago. Mercedes said in a statement: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team and Kingspan have announced they have mutually agreed to end their partnership. “Announced last week, the new partnership included Kingspan chairing a new Sustainability Working Group for the team, and aimed to deliver carbon reductions through their leading-edge environmentally sustainable solutions for the team’s future campus. “However, both parties have subsequently concluded that it is not appropriate for the partnership to move forward at the current point in time, notwithstanding its intended positive impact, and we have therefore agreed that it will be discontinued with immediate effect.”

Oscar Piastri to take part in Abu Dhabi post-season young driver test with Alpine

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Alpine has announced academy driver Oscar Piastri will drive for the team in the Formula 1 post-season young driver test in Abu Dhabi. Last month Piastri was confirmed as Alpine’s official reserve driver for next season, following a stellar debut campaign in Formula 2. The Australian leads the drivers’ championship by 51.5 points ahead of the final round this weekend after winning two of the three races in Saudi Arabia. Although Piastri failed to land an F1 seat for next year, Alpine said the test “will build towards his 2022 role with a day behind the wheel of the race winning A521 car.” “I’m very excited to drive in the Young Driver Test,” Piastri said. “It’s almost like my first official day in my new job for next year when I become the Team’s Reserve Driver. “Any day in an F1 car is pretty special but to drive the current one with other drivers on track in a somewhat competitive environment is very cool. Thanks to the team for this opportunity, I’m certainly looking forward to it and working through a very full testing programme on the day.” Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi is clear Piastri will play a key role in helping the French outfit prepare for the 2022 major regulations changes over the two-day test, as well as continue is own personal development. “Oscar has had a fantastic Formula 2 season this year, again showing his class, and this Young Driver Test appearance is well earned.” Rossi said. “This test will be part of Oscar’s ongoing development as he prepares to become the team’s Reserve Driver for 2022, to aid and assist Fernando and Esteban and our development teams on and off the track. “In parallel, as Oscar gets up to speed with the current car, we will already be looking forward to 2022 with our current drivers as they experience the new 18” tyres for next year. It’s a good opportunity for us to learn in preparation for the challenges of the next year on all fronts.” Alpine also confirmed current drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon would be behind the wheel of a 2018-spec car to get accustomed to Pirelli’s new 18 inch tyres.

Kazuki Nakajima retires from WEC, takes senior role in Toyota Gazoo

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

On the eve of the final round of the WEC season in Bahrain it was announced that Nakajima would not be part of Toyota’s line-up for the 2022 season. Toyota confirmed on Monday in its 2022 motorsport presentation in Tokyo that Ryo Hirakawa will take over Nakajima’s seat aboard the #8 GR010 Hybrid alongside Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley next season. Nakajima was linked with a return to racing in Japan’s two premier categories SUPER GT and Super Formula full-time in 2022, but instead the 36-year-old will act as Vice-Chairman of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe. His focus at TGRE, formerly Toyota Motorsport GmbH, will be to “enhance the organisation and optimise its driver-focused approach to WEC, alongside team and driver management responsibilities”, according to a statement issued by the Japanese manufacturer. It brings down the curtain on a career that spanned three season in Formula 1 with Williams and nine in the WEC with Toyota, which included three victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours and two WEC titles. “I started off as a racing driver when I was 11 years old, so it’s been 25 years,” Nakajima said. “When I was 18 years old, I made my debut as a Toyota driver in Formula Toyota. Now I’m 36, so since my debut it’s been half of my lifetime I’ve been driving for Toyota and been looked after by them. “I’ve had many experiences with them, and it was thanks to that environment I was able to show more than my original strength, so I’m very grateful for that, and for the support I had from the team staff and the fans.” Kamui Kobayashi meanwhile will combine his driving duties with a new role as team principal – a new position designed, according to Toyota’s statement, “bring a driver’s perspective to team leadership with a specific focus on enhancing the team for the Hypercar era”. Toyota has also revealed that Yuichiro Haruna will become the project director of the WEC squad alongside the similar position he holds at the manufacturer’s World Rally Championship team.

Yas Marina Circuit will be 14s quicker after track changes

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Yas Marina Circuit is set to be 14 seconds quicker this year due changes made to several corners. This is according to Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli Abu Dhabi’s purpose-built Yas Marina was constructed in 2009 but has received criticism for its layout, frequently producing subdued racing, and opted to make changes for 2021. The most dramatic changes are the removal of the Turn 5/6 chicane, with the hairpin opened up and brought forward, while the old Turn 11-14 complex has been replaced by a 180-degree sweeper. The corners closest to the W Hotel have also had their negative camber removed and have been opened up to create faster apex speeds. These alterations have reduced the lap distance by 273 metres, with Pirelli’s simulation suggesting that lap times will be up to 14 seconds quicker. Last year’s pole position time, set by Max Verstappen, was a 1:35.246s. Pirelli has once more nominated the three softest compounds – the C3s, C4s and C5s – from its range as it does not expect significant changes to the energy put through the rubber. “This will be the first time we face the new configuration, including some areas with new asphalt, but we have been able to rely on simulations and other information in advance to prepare,” explained Pirelli chief Mario Isola. “In general, with the creation of some quicker turns, the track is now faster and with more overtaking opportunities. “The result of these changes are bigger vertical loads, especially on the front tyres. But we don’t expect the overall severity for the tyres to change significantly, which is why we’ve nominated the softest tyres in the range.”

Hamilton finally sells New York penthouse for £37m

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

Lewis Hamilton has sold his New York City penthouse for a whopping $49.5 million (£37.26 million) – bagging himself an impressive $5.6 million (£4.22 million) since purchasing the lavish hotspot in 2017. The racing driver, 36, listed the property for $57 million (£42.90 million) in February 2019, before dropping his price for a mystery buyer who went incognito through a Seattle shell company, as stated in property records. According to the listing, the penthouse is ‘the crown jewel of the building, an enclave of exclusivity in the heart of Northwest Tribeca’. Measuring over 12,000 interior and exterior square feet, the penthouse features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, two half bathrooms, 20 foot soaring ceilings, multiple terraces, a plunge pool, and two dedicated parking spaces. With neighbours including The Weekend, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebel Wilson and Meg Ryan, it occupies three levels with direct building elevator access and a separate and private elevator. The building was a 19th-century book bindery factory including pine beams with steel fittings and seventeen restored windows. The windowed Christopher Peacock kitchen is outfitted with a Calacatta marble island, dual dishwashers, six-burner Wolf range with grill top, side-by-side 36-inch-wide Subzero refrigerator/freezer, and a Gaggenau wine refrigerator. For the exclusive occupants of the building, there’s a 70-foot indoor swimming pool, a fitness center and Turkish bath, a 5,000-square-foot landscaped roof terrace and lush central courtyard. The Hertfordshire native won’t be homeless in New York, since he also owns another bachelor penthouse at nearby Vestry St, which he splashed $40.7 million (£30.64 million) on back in 2017.

Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt join forces to work on a racing movie

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago01 mins

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton are joining forces for a new racing movie which is to be directed by Joseph Kosinski. Both Pitt and Kosinski have been looking to film a racing movie for a while, and almost worked together on an adaptation of the book ‘Go Like Hell’, though that fell through and eventually become ‘Ford v Ferrari’. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount, MGM, Sony, Universal, Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Disney are all bidding to win the rights to the movie. Hamilton himself has has previously produced Cars 2, Cars 3 and Zoolander 2, but is yet to make a foray into acting, other than the odd cameo role. Jerry Bruckheimer is to serve as producer and Ehren Kruger will be the screenwriter for the as yet untitled project.

Masi defends offer to Red Bull stating it’s a ‘normal’ discussion in F1

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

FIA race director Michael Masi says his offer for Red Bull to forfeit position ahead of a race restart at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a “normal discussion that happens regularly” in Formula 1. Masi was heard offering Red Bull to give up pole position and drop Max Verstappen behind title rival Lewis Hamilton at the second standing restart following a red flag suspension during Sunday’s dramatic race. It came in response to Verstappen overtaking Hamilton off track at Turn 1 during the first race restart after Haas driver Mick Schumacher caused an early red flag with a hefty crash. The exchange between Masi and Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley drew comparisons to British game show Deal or No Deal by fans on social media. But Masi stressed there was nothing unusual about the procedure. “I wouldn’t call it a deal as from a race director’s perspective I have no authority to instruct the teams to do anything in that situation,” Masi said after the race. “I can give them an offer, the ability to do that but the choice is theirs. The stewards are obviously empowered to give penalties but I can give them my perspective. “That’s why I offered them the ability to give that position up.” After some deliberation Red Bull ultimately accepted the offer and Verstappen was able to snatch the lead away from Hamilton with a daring lunge at the restart, setting up an intense scrap for victory. Masi insisted the talks with Red Bull were “very much a normal discussion that happens regularly on a number of occasions and has had all year, and previously.” “It was a result of the red flag that came about due to the incident at Turn 3,” he added. “The priority with any red flag situation is A; to make sure the drivers are safe, and then to activate the marshals’ recovering with cleaning the track and so forth. “So it probably seemed a bit elongated compared to normal, however it is very much a normal discussion that takes place. When I saw it happen at Turn 2, I immediately suggested to the stewards that I am going to give the ability to give that place back. “The red flag obviously ensued very quickly thereafter and that was absolutely the priority before we got going again. Being as we were under the suspension, it was the ability to effectively correct that before we went racing going again.” Contrary to Masi’s claim, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described the situation as “unusual” and something “I’ve not come across previously.”